Dark Matter – All the Time in the World

Owing more than a little inspiration from Groundhog Day, the first-half of “All the Time in the World” is perfect. Trapped in a time-loop forcing him to relive the same day over and over again, a frustrated Three (Anthony Lemke) struggles to convince the crew of the Raza what is happening and find a way to break the loop. There are several smart choice here, including starting with Three already stuck in the loop after several days and the use of the “Butterfly Effect” to explain the differences caused by his choices every time through the loop. Then there’s the incredulity of his crewmates and the various ways he attempts, and fails, to convince them of the truth (including learning French). It’s the best use of the concept I’ve seen on television since Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s “Cause and Effect.”

Sadly, the show can’t sustain the insanity for an entire episode when it chooses to introduce darker themes in its final half-hour including an assassin with the ability to phase through solid objects on-board and the Android‘s (Zoie Palmer) bizarre time jumps while putting an end to the device causing the loop. While intriguing on their own, it’s a bit of a tonal leap from the insanely fun first-half of the episode when things turn deadly serious for all involved. Still, this is easily the best episode of the series so far.